The Harry Potter novels have been banned in certain libraries. Photo by: Reneh Gambrel
By Reneh Gambrel
September 22nd to September 28th was Banned Books Week. The topic of banning books addresses the question of whether books should be censored based on their content.
The term censorship can be defined many different ways. Ms. Wezeman defines censorship as “some authority telling people what they can and can not publish or see.” Mr. Mayer agrees with this assessment. Mr. Mayer says censorship is “someone else deciding what is wrong and what is right for someone else to partake in.” Both Mr. Mayer and Ms. Wezeman are against censorship. Mr. Mayer believes that censoring books is harmful for today’s youth, because “by doing so we’re sheltering people from certain things in life only for them to inevitably discover them later and have problems with them then.” Mr. Mayer thinks “it’s completely unnecessary. People should be allowed to read what they want as long as it appeals to them.” Ms. Wezeman agrees that it is a person’s choice to read what he or she wants. Ms. Wezeman said, “People should make decisions for themselves. Artistic expression should be kept as is and not bowdlerized. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.”
Mr. Mayer does not believe in censoring books, and he enjoys reading the banned book The Book of Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley. Photo by: Reneh Gambrel
Freshman Daisy Lewis does not want to read books that are censored “because then it’s just not the same story that the author has created for others to read.” Lewis does not think censorship is necessary because “they’re just words. They don’t really hurt anyone.” However, sophomore Morganne Kviz thinks words can hurt others, particularly children. Kviz likes the idea of censorship around those who are too young to be exposed to certain content. Kviz expresses her concerns that if children are around inappropriate language, they will start repeating it. Junior Stephanie Boyle understands Kviz’s perspective, and she thinks that it would be a good idea to edit a version specifically for younger age groups and allow older people to view the uncensored version.
Senior Kristina Ratcliff thinks books should be censored, especially books in school libraries. Ratcliff defines censorship as “a way to cut out some inappropriate things in books, music and tv.” Ratcliff believes that there is certain content that should not be published. However, senior Riley Cartwright does not want books in high school libraries to be censored. Cartwright believes that by high school students should be allowed to choose what they want to read. According to Cartwright, censoring books “blocks people’s views on subjects and makes them more naive about the real world.” As for censoring books for different age groups, Cartwright believes it is “a parent’s job to raise their children, not the government or society.”
Some students agree that censorship should be more prominent for children, but not necessarily for students in high school. Like senior Morgan Thomas said, “If you don’t like the content, don’t pick up the book.”